When The Leader Denies There Are Employees, They Are Ashamed To Be Caught Working At The KPK

Gedung KPK (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Former Spokesperson for the Eradication Commission (KPK) Febri Diansyah opened the story that a friend of his who was still working at the anti-corruption commission was embarrassed if he was caught working there. This statement was then responded casually by the Deputy Chair of the KPK, Nurul Ghufron, who said this was not true.

According to Ghufron, he had never heard a similar story from his subordinates. In fact, all of its employees are still trying to work at the KPK.

"I don't think so, because all of them are KPK employees, we all know the fact that they are trying to remain employees," he told VOI, Thursday, August 12.

"It means pride in being a KPK employee," he added.

He also stated that his employees are currently still working to investigate corruption cases even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our performance remains on," said Ghufron.

As for the story of a KPK employee who was embarrassed to know his place of work was conveyed by Febri through a thread on his Twitter account @febridiansyah. He said that recently he has been in constant communication with his friend who is still working at the anti-corruption commission and asked him to meet for a discussion over coffee.

The friend agreed to the invitation, but he asked Febri to keep his workplace a secret if he met other people. This requirement, he said, was not due to the nature of work at the KPK which was always closed but because his friends were shy.

"He ordered: If you're someone else, don't say I'm from the KPK. "Why?" I asked. "Shame", he said," said Febri imitating the conversation in his tweet.

To Febri, the employee admitted that he was worried about the condition of the KPK, which has recently become increasingly controversial. Hearing this, Febri was touched because a KPK employee who had switched status as a State Civil Apparatus (ASN) was actually ashamed of his status.

Not only that, he also said that other KPK employees felt very guilty because they were not included in the 75 employees who were disabled due to not passing the National Insight Test (TWK).

"There are also other employees who are sad and feel guilty like 'leaving' tmn2 75," said the anti-corruption activist.

Ending his story, Febri said that being a KPK employee is not just working to earn income, but also building hope for a better Indonesia without corruption. Thus, the shame shown by his friend is a form of responsibility towards the KPK and anti-corruption attitudes in Indonesia.

"The shame that he conveyed in my opinion shows his responsibility towards the KPK and Anti-Corruption," said Febri.

"In this day and age, there are fewer and fewer people who have and feel SHAME... Many are more like NOT KNOWING SHAME. Feeling right even though they are wrong, speeches use clean slogans even though they are corruption," he said.

It's natural to be embarrassed because of the condition

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana considers it natural for employees to feel embarrassed and ask that their identity as KPK employees be covered up. According to him, this could have happened because the anti-corruption commission was no longer what it used to be.

"For ICW, this is natural considering that the KPK's condition is not what it used to be," said ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhana in her statement to VOI.

According to him, the KPK, which used to be successful, is now full of controversy. Not only that, a number of practice values of integrity within the institution have been eroded.

"That's not enough, the performance of the KPK has also fallen, especially in terms of taking action," said the anti-corruption activist.

In addition, other controversies that are now visible are related to the internal management of institutions which are often colored by debate. "For example, holding the National Insight Test (TWK) for KPK employees," said Kurnia.

"So, simply put, the KPK really cannot be relied on for the task of eradicating corruption. A number of KPK achievements have now turned into controversy," he added.

In addition, Kurnia said the shift occurred because of two main issues, namely the election of Firli Bahuri et al to lead the KPK and the amendment to the revised KPK Law.

For this reason, ICW urges Firli to immediately resign from his position as Chairman of the KPK. "This is important so that later people's trust will grow again," he concluded.